Where The Ocean Meets The Sand
by nellabean
Summary: Nile has never seen the ocean. Hikaru thinks that's just absurd. Hikaru takes Nile on a train ride to the shore, and the two gradually grow closer as they unravel feelings for each other that they didn't know they shared. Nile x Hikaru two-shot!
1. Chapter 1

**I am so, so, so, so ,so sorry to all the reviewers of my other fics that I haven't gotten around to replying to. I haven't been able to get on here for ****AGES**** and I take my replying/reviewing very seriously. I mean, if there's people out there who have taken the time to review a story, then the least I can do is write a simple 'thank you', right? **

**Right.**

**Anyway, I got this little two-shot for ya. Don't worry, this one won't be a super slow update like some of my other stuff. I totally know where I'm going with this. It's another little pointless snippet that I scribbled up as a way of passing the time, so don't expect it to be fabulous. I'm actually not that pleased with this one. **

**It's funny, I can never usually write at any other time than the early hours of the morning. I lay there, trying to sleep and my brain speaks up and says, "Hey, you know what, Jessie? You can forget about sleeping, you can sleep when you're dead. Get up off your but and use me, I have an idea. We don't get enough of those."**

**I never see enough Nile x Hikaru and maybe that's for a reason. Who knows, but I'll post a story for the pairing anyway.**

* * *

"So you've never seen the ocean, Nile?"

Her question unnerved him but not for too long. Of course he'd never seen the ocean. What did she think? He'd spent his whole life between arid lands such as Africa and Egypt. Yes, he'd braved oceans of sand, but never oceans of water.

"Nope, never."

"Huh, how 'bout that. It's a pity, really. The ocean is beautiful."

'_Like you_,' he thought, but he dare not voice the words.

She smirked. "I guess you could say that the sea is really something you should see."

And with that, the once rather serene environment at the local park was shattered as the girl erupted with laughter at her own terrible pun. He found himself laughing along with her, but his source of entertainment stemmed from the comical sight of her slapping her knee and clapping her hands like a seal falling victim to a severe epileptic fit.

"Easy Hikaru," he said. "Don't bust a rib."

"Okay, okay, okay," she wheezed. "But in all seriousness, you've got to know what it's like."

He let his gaze fall to his tapping feet underneath the park bench they shared. "One day, I will."

Hikaru put a finger to her chin as she seemed to be pondering an elaborate plan in her head. Nile, being the natural observationist that he was, didn't miss that. It was a feminine gesture, something she didn't usually let escape her tomboyish make-up. Nile liked her go-getter, no nonsense attitude. Don't get him wrong. He liked a girl who he could blade with without the possible complaint of a broken nail. He liked a girl who could blade at all, in fact. But he also appreciated this particularly fragile and delicate piece of her personality. It made him all the more eager to protect and serve her.

Very suddenly, Hikaru grabbed Nile's wrist and pulled him up alongside her. "C'mon," she said as her eyes twinkled the way a person's do when a light bulb has just gone off in their head. "I wanna show you the waves."

She tugged him along, but he dug his heels into the ground bringing them both to a stop in classic Nile-esc stubbornness. He rubbed the back of his neck with his freehand. "What? We're in the middle of the city, there's no ocean here for miles."

"I'd walk for miles for one of Nile's smiles," she giggled earning a powdery blush from the same Nile in her second pun of the day.

"You're a natural poet," he joked.

"Tell me something I don't know. But no, we won't have to walk for miles. All we have to do is take the train to the shore. If we hurry, we can get there before sunset."

He was about to protest, thinking of all the training he needed to do in preparation for the battle he'd promised Kyoya the following morning. "Well…"

Hikaru wasn't about to let him be a wet blanket. "Oh, don't be so uptight. That's Tsubasa's thing!"

"Well, okay. If you're sure…"

"Yay, Nile!"

Nile sighed as he tried to deny the knowledge that was making itself ever more factual with every second that he let slip through his fingers. He couldn't deny it, though. He was hopelessly and unconditionally in love with Hikaru Hasama.

* * *

The train rocked him back and forth rhythmically, like a mother nursing her child into a deep slumber. The repetitive humming of the train tracks and the blurred scenery he could see outside of his window made him want to fall asleep right then and there. And he would have too, if Hikaru, who sat next to him, were not such a fascinating and intricate thing to look at. Though she hadn't spoken to him much while she rode the train with him, he believed that if he were to shut his eyes for more than the time required to blink, he would be missing out.

"Nile?" she asked tearing him from his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"What's it like living in Egypt?"

"Hot," he stated blankly.

"Well no duh, funny man. I mean, besides the heat. What do you do for fun?"

"Well, I'll be honest and say it's kind of dull. Rather than the more modernized areas of Egypt, I was raised in a desert colony. You'd think that living in such a hot place, I'd have learnt to deal with breaking a sweat every time I left my home. But I didn't"

The train came to a stop and the two watched as a young couple boarded the carriage with a pram. The baby was covered in a pink bunny rug, so they couldn't see the infant. The young man, noticing that there was only one vacant seat, opted to stand in order to let his girlfriend or wife sit down. Nile smiled at the gesture.

"What was your home like? What about your friends and family?"

Nile's content smile turned bittersweet. Hikaru thought she caught a glimpse of something like pain in his viridian eyes.

"Most of the houses in my town were underground. They've been like that since ancient times. They're that way because it's effective for keeping the heat out, and sandstorms become less of a problem. My friends, I mean if you could call them that, never really accepted me. I was always 'That Quiet Guy'. There was nothing in the way of privacy, either. It was such a small community that everyone knew everyone's business. If you so much as thought of a secret, somehow someone would find out."

"You're quite secretive, Nile. I can imagine how that would go down with you."

"Just one of the many reasons I kept to myself as much as possible. But it wasn't like there was anything good to talk about half the time, anyway. What makes for good small talk in the middle of the desert? '_Hey, nice sand we're having today_.' '_Yep, how 'bout that blistering sunlight?_' '_Did you hear about old Bobby-Joe? Went out to fetch his laundry and was mauled to death by a lion. Tragic, ain't it?_'"

Hikaru's eyes widened in horror, "Did anyone really get eaten by a lion?"

"Nah, at least not that I knew of. Old Mrs. Mubarak actually kept one as a pet. She had that ingenious idea when she suspected that someone was stealing her knitting. Needless to say, she stopped complaining of her yarn going missing after that."

Hikaru laughed, nudging Nile in the shoulder roughly.

Nile didn't continue his story telling just yet. His attention was grasped by the couple again as he watched them in casual conversation. Though it took no visual form, he could see the simplistic devotion they had towards each other. It was like an aura wrapped them and their child in their own perfect little world. Such a display reminded him of his own parents and at once, he realized why something so beautiful made him feel so terribly sad.

It was as if it were 'hey, let's all shove painful memories down Nile's throat' day, an event that seemed to be growing more and more popular each year to the point where Nile contemplated marketing celebratory flags, because Hikaru voiced yet another statement.

"You still haven't said anything about your family. What were they like?"

"I don't really remember."

"Liar."

"What?"

"You heard me, I called you a liar."

"How come?"

She gave him a flat look, folding her arms. "Nile, you couldn't lie straight in bed. Look at you; you can't even meet my eyes."

Hikaru would be the first to receive one of Nile's flags, just for being so gosh-darn enthusiastic about the holiday.

He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

She nodded, "stop changing the subject."

"I… I guess the problem here is that I remember things about them that I'd rather forget. They say you have to take the bad with the good but in this case, I'd rather not have any memories."

Her voice fell to a whisper, "Did they, did they _hurt_ you?"

"No, not really," he collected himself before continuing, slumping his shoulders a bit. "When I was very young, I lived with my mother and father in Egypt. I don't think I can name anyone who was more in love than those two.

"I remember father would play wrestle with me indoors constantly. He would even teach me how to Blade in the living room, and he never shied away from a friendly game of kitchen soccer. He was only very young, and in a way he was still a kid himself. Mother would come in and yell at us about not destroying her furniture, and father would say 'Neferet, we're not raising furniture, we're raising a son'. She would pout about it, but eventually give in and end up building a fort or something for us to play in. Then, she'd read me stories about the ancient gods and pharaohs by candle light until I fell asleep. And when we got super bored on particularly lazy afternoons, mother and I would take advantage of the fact that father always slept on his stomach and draw faces on the back of his bald head."

"That doesn't sound so painful," Hikaru commented.

"It wasn't. It was the most perfect time in my life."

"Then, what happened?"

"One night, over dinner mother broke the news that she was pregnant with a little girl. I still smile about how excited father was. He threw me up and down so much that I threw up. After that, he sighed in relief and being the outspoken man that he was, he told mother that he was sorry for thinking that she merely put on weight.

"Everything was just peachy, until mother kept having to go to the hospital. Father told me that mother and the baby were simply just sick but that everything would be okay because the doctor's would fix things. The medical system back then in Egypt was still very underdeveloped, you see…

"So as the months went by, we saw less and less of mother until eventually, she became hospital bound. We would visit her often but I remember how afraid I felt towards the end of things. She started looking so ghostly, Hikaru. With each visit, her face thinned out more and more, her once golden skin took a sick, yellow color and her beautiful green eyes started to resemble murky swamp pools. She lost so much weight… she was just this skeleton-like form with a massive swollen stomach. She was unrecognizable to me, she looked like an alien. I expected a monster to break out of her skin at any moment, like it was using her body for a cocoon.

"Father's eyes were always red-raw from crying. I would lay awake at night, unable to sleep for his broken sobbing I could hear in the living room. The bins were always toppling over with alcohol bottles and father began to get nasty. He was too young for the pressure, he couldn't handle it. A few times, he came home from work so highly strung that he would lash out and hit me. He never really _hurt_ me, more so he just took his frustration out on me. Then he would cradle me in his big, strong arms, rocking me back and forth repeating over and over how sorry he was...

"I am very positive, Hikaru, that my parents were kindred spirits. Because as mother began to deteriorate, so did he."

Nile stopped talking when he felt a small and comforting hand grasp his own. He looked down from the window and was met with two watery, violet eyes that seeped crystal tears of emotion onto soft, blush kissed cheeks. Hikaru's eyes brimmed with empathetic feelings so genuine and real, that he had to catch his breath as the sight of them cut him deep.

Now, Nile hastily repositioned his body to face her, taking her hand in both of his. "No, no, no. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She blinked, her thick lashes fanning away her tears,"She died?"

He hesitated, unsure if he should tell her the truth. How it pained him to see her cry.

"Please, continue… I want to know."

Nile nodded slowly."Yes, my sister too. We were at the hospital when the surgeon told us. He had tried his best to save her but the complications were far too severe. Father's reaction surprised me. He didn't cry anymore. He stopped instantly. At that moment, it was like something switched off inside of him, all life and soul vanished. He simply turned, left the hospital and never came back. I waited for him, but a nurse collected me and arranged for me to live with a foster family. I lived with this new family for a week, and they were very kind to me but I just wanted to be on my own. So, one night, I snuck out and went back to my old home. I slept in mother and father's bed, hoping that maybe father would come back. He didn't, and there were no signs to say that he'd been there, either. No note, no belongings taken. Mother's perfume was still on the pillow.

"I salvaged a few things and went down to the river. I sat there, just thinking for days until an elderly man on a raft came by. Concerned, he carried me onto his raft and nursed me back to health as I was rather tired and weak. He helped me get back on my feet and then, I just sort of made a new life for myself in solitude. I still don't know what happened to father. I don't even know if he's dead. He might be out there, somewhere. But I know he certainly isn't alive. Breathing, maybe, but alive? Not a chance."

Hikaru was silent. Then, "Nile, I didn't know."

He hushed her, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I-I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, it's in the past," though he didn't sound like he believed that statement himself.

She squeezed his hand. "I know what it feels like. I do."

He looked at her, puzzled.

"I'll tell you one day," she replied, finally looking away.

Nile decided not to push her, for who in this world could better understand the angst in recalling painful memories? He knew much of a challenge it was to keep those merciless demons at bay in the deepest waters of your soul. It was a constant inner battle every day, and the consequences of losing to those demons and allowing them to swim to the surface could break a person. Lethal things, memories like that. They would pull you under the water and use your lifeless body to stay afloat.

Nile redirected his attention to the blurred scenery outside the window. Beside him, he felt Hikaru inch closer to his person, wrap an arm around the front of his waist and snuggle her face into his shirt. He pat her hair with a touch as light as the force you would use to experience the texture of a perfectly blossomed rose. He felt the warm moisture of her tears seeps through his shirt, through his skin, past his bones and into his soul, drowning those evil ghosts once again.

* * *

**So that's part 1. Part 2 is half written, almost finished. As I said, I don't know how well a Nile x Hikaru pairing will go down with you guys, but I myself have discovered a new love for Nile (he's my baby, I just wanna wrap him up in a blanket and squeeze him!) and there just aren't enough girls in this anime to work with! Not that I have anything against a boy on boy story, I just don't know how to go about writing them. **

**If you managed to get this far without dying of boredom, thank you a bunch. You guys are awesome.**

**Jessie :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here we have part 2. I apologise in advance for the sort of 'rushed' feeling this chapter has. But hey, it's a two-shot. ;) **

**I don't own Beyblade.**

* * *

Nile shook Hikaru's shoulder. She had fallen asleep on him and now, she stirred slightly under his touch before waking up all the way.

"Sorry," she gushed after realizing her position.

He smiled, obviously more energetic than he had been before she'd dozed off. "Don't be. "

Nile stood up, pulling her up next to him as he hadn't yet let go of her hand since taking it earlier.

The train began to slow, they had arrived at their destination. They made their way to the conjoining cabin and stood before the mechanical sliding doors. Beside them, the couple that Nile had taken so much interest didn't move. This was not their stop.

As the young woman cooed at the child in the pram, Nile got his first look at the baby. A doll-like, chocolate eyed girl of only about 8 months with a tuft of thick ebony hair giggled with glee at her mother. He found himself marveling at the fact that her eyes were so intensely dark for such a new life, but he soon met eyes with the mother and her deep black, kind glance told him immediately that she was the one whom the child had inherited those haunting eyes from. Just like he himself had received his own mother's eyes.

The doors slid open and Hikaru stepped off, her hand still entwined with Nile's. He followed pursuit, but not before he heard the man exchange what was intended to be a whisper with his wife, "They remind me of us when we were teenagers, don't you think?"

Once on the platform, Nile watched the train gradually pick up speed and chug away further and further until it was no longer in his sight. Briefly, he wondered where the couple could be going at such a time in the late afternoon, but his attention was soon captured by Hikaru.

"Perfect,"

Nile looked at her, wearing that blank expression of his.

"Perfect," she repeated. "There's no one else here. Come, the shore's just down those steps."

Hikaru raced along the deserted platform and stood by the railing that indicated where said steps were. Like a display girl showing off a prize to be won on a game show, she waved her hands around in the air. Nile couldn't hide a smile as it crept onto his face. He noticed how harsh the wind was, as well as the way it whipped its way through Hikaru's hair giving her an almost suggestive bed-head kind of up-do. He had to pull himself up there, so he shook his head from side to side in an attempt to remove such impure thoughts.

As he reached the stone staircase, he looked afar across the scene before him and he was suddenly breathless.

Yes, it was true that Nile was not completely unaware of the seashore's beauty. He'd seen pictures and he'd watched a few documentaries on quiet nights spent in nameless hotels while travelling with Wild Fang. But to actually _be there_, to really see in with his own two eyes… well, this was something totally different.

The foot of the stairs met a glorious sand floor that glittered in a way that made it appear to be covered in rich, gold sequins. Further down and to his left, the land ceased to exist as waves so gentle and pure moved in and out with no real sense of purpose. He had previously underestimated the ocean itself, it would seem, because the sheer size of it struck him with awe. It went on forever. An orange/pink sky framed the horizon, free from clouds or any other such imperfections. And the way that the sun hung so low gave Nile the impression that he was appreciating a very detailed watercolor painting.

There was a clean, almost antiseptic taste in the air and the subtle thickness to the breeze pressed his clothing against his body as he descended the steps. Far away, he could hear the faint song of a flock of seagulls preparing to retire for the evening.

Still caught up in his own wonderland, he jumped as he felt someone squeeze the sides of his waist from behind. The offender quite literally skipped around to stand beside him.

"So… what do you think?" Hikaru asked, though her tone indicated that she already knew the answer.

Still, he didn't allow himself to tear his eyes away from the view in front of him. "It's absolutely amazing."

"Like you," she muttered her head bowed in embarrassment. Once she had caught herself, she threw her hand up to her mouth in shock at how easily she's let her thoughts become her words. Timidly, she glanced up expecting ridicule, yet she found the space beside her to be empty. Looking around, she finally laid eyes on Nile who had run off towards the water.

He turned and waved, "Hey, what are you standing around for? Show me the water."

Relieved, yet somehow slightly disappointed that Nile had not heard her little slip of the tongue, she chased after him.

Nile stood in the shallow water, watching the little sand particles caught in the wave's motion wisp around his shoes. He didn't care that his shoes were now soaked, for he knew that life was short and any time spent worrying over spilt milk or wet shoes was time wasted. He bent down, cupped some of the water in his hands and then lifted them to his mouth.

"Nile, what are you doing?" Hikaru called from behind.

'_What does it look like, girl?_' he thought. '_I just rode a train for three hours. Damn it, I'm parched!_'

"Nile, don't!"

Too late. He had poured a whole handful of seawater into his mouth. To say that Nile got quite a surprise would be an understatement. He had expected cool, fresh water to quench his thirst but instead was confronted with a mouthful of what tasted like a bucket of salt.

"Nile!"

Hikaru came running up beside him. He turned, not noticing her for he was simply just that distraught, and sprayed the water all over the poor girl like a sprinkler.

Nile grabbed his scarf and scrubbed his tongue with the course material. "Ew, ew, ew."

"I'm soaked!" Hikaru's outburst finally caught Nile's attention and when he realized what he had done, he almost fell over with panic. He forgot all about the horror that was wreaking havoc on his taste buds.

"Hikaru! Oh my g… I swear that was an accident! I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry. I mean, I didn't see you there and the… the water! Someone's dumped salt in the water! I didn't, I mean, I didn't realize…"

As Nile tripped over his own words, Hikaru burst out laughing.

"Nobody's put anything in the water, silly," she breathed between crippling hysterics. "Sea water is naturally salty, you're not meant to drink it. It's not like the waters in rivers and lakes."

Nile could only utter a quiet "Oh," as his face flushed pinker with each humiliating second.

She tried to speak, but couldn't for all the laughter. She grabbed his arm for support as she doubled over, clutching her chest with her other hand. At first, Nile was relieved that she hadn't punched him out; he knew that if he truly did anger her then she wouldn't hesitate to rearrange his face. But after about five minutes of being the butt of Hikaru's joke, his patience wore thin. Sternly, he put his hands on his hips and pouted.

"What's so funny?"

"You," she wheezed. She looked up sensing his unimpressed vibes only to keel over again at the sight of such a particularly cranky Nile.

"How?" he demanded more serious than ever.

"Your innocence. How can you _not_ know that you can't drink seawater? And the way you spit it out, classic!"

Suddenly, a childish playfulness washed over him. He cupped more water in his hands. "You mean the way I spit it out," he drank the water. "Like this?" although it sounded a lot more like "Gike Giss?" Then he sprayed the water over her a second time, grinning cheekily at her stunned expression.

Instantly, she stopped laughing. Glaring at him, she bent down and collected her own water. "Actually, it was more like this."

Within seconds, Niles hair lay flat against his head. For a while he was silent, then with a deathly serious voice he breathed, "This means war."

He bent down again, and began using his hands to throw water up at her repeatedly until she was completely drenched. Hikaru , after recovering from the mini-tsunami Nile had wrought upon her, retaliated by simply pushing him over into the water.

And so, like two children, Nile and Hikaru chased each other through the water running parallel along the shore. Over an hour passed as the battle raged on. Playtime took a slightly rougher turn when Hikaru held Nile under the deeper pools for so long that he almost ran out of breath at one point. Nile didn't hesitate to combat that attack by picking her up and throwing her into the surf like a rag-doll.

Before they'd realized how much time had slipped on by, the sun had completely set. Now, the moon nestled midway in a starry blanket and spilled a silver stream into the blackened sea. Their clothes had dried, but they were still damp enough to feel more than a slight chill. By now, puffing and panting they had reached the end of the shore and come to a large, rock wall.

Nile turned to Hikaru who stood beside him marveling at the sight, "Truce?" he asked.

"Until tomorrow."

Nile smirked because he knew that she definitely meant what she said. Then, he began to move towards the rock.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, you said you were going to show me the ocean. Why stop now?" He started scrambling up the wall. He made it look so easy.

"But, I've never climbed that rock. I don't know what's at the top."

"Only one way to find out."

She sighed and followed his lead. Surprisingly, it wasn't as difficult to climb as she had first thought. She discovered that it was simply a matter of placing one hand and foot after the other and hauling herself up. All she had to do was hold on.

She was almost at the top when she heard Nile's voice call to her, his head poking over the edge. "Careful, this last part is a bit unsteady. Don't grab the rickety one."

"Which one's the rickety one?"

As Hikaru laid her hand on another jagged rock, she answered her own question. The rock came away under her grip, and the shock forced her to let go of the rock she was using to support her weight. She screamed, not even having enough time to think about what was happening. For one terrifying second, Hikaru felt herself falling.

Until she felt a hand grab her wrist. She opened her eyes, momentarily wondering when she'd closed them, and saw her saviors face. Nile wore a wide grin as he pulled her up over the edge rather effortlessly despite his small frame. Once she was safe on flat ground, she caught her breath while Nile didn't even attempt to stifle his laughter.

"Told you to be careful."

Hikaru let out a low mumble that sounded an awful lot like a growl. "Did the saltwater make you crazy? That was so dangerous!"

"Relax! I'm sorry, are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

"Well, no…"

"Good. That's all that's important at the moment, then."

"I suppose I should thank you."

"Don't you mention it," he said and he gave her a soft smile.

For a full thirty seconds, the pair fell silent. Nothing but the sound of crashing waves and heavy but steady breathing made itself audible. Nile watched Hikaru as she stared at the moon. The same moon reflected in her lavender eyes, making them twinkle in much the same manner as the stars above them. Before he knew what he was doing, he lent forward, just a little. Then a little more. Hikaru didn't notice him as he got closer. She jumped up and ran to the edge on the other side of the rock, crawling onto her hands and knees. She peered over the side, "Hey Nile, come look at this."

Maybe the seawater did make him a tad crazy. He was glad for whatever had distracted Hikaru, because for a moment there, he swore he was about to kiss her.

'_Stop it,_' Nile told himself. '_Don't be stupid. She's Hikaru and you're, well you're you… She'll never repay whatever feelings you think you're having so don't kid yourself._' He shook his head, trying to expel such far-out ideas and followed her.

Standing next to a kneeling an oblivious Hikaru, he saw what she had been so excited about.

"Wow," he whispered.

About ten feel fellow them at the foot of the rock, severely intense waves crashed and slammed against the surface. Sea foam flew everywhere with each constant bash that the waves gave.

At once, it became apparent to him that the ocean wasn't what he had previously seen. _This_ was the ocean. This, in all its vicious, merciless power, was the true ocean. He thought about how the rock he was standing on would eventually be eroded by those waves. It may take hundreds of years, but the sea is in no haste. With each clash, it chisels away at seemingly indestructible boundaries, eventually wearing the rock formation away. He imagined himself trapped in that rage bellow him, and the idea sent a chill up his spine. Once caught, he knew that there would be no way to fight it. He'd be thrown around like a chew toy, held in a liquid cage until every last ounce of his strength and will to live was drained and he was pulled under into a watery grave. Nile realized that really, the ocean, at its most vengeful is quite a horrific thing.

"It's so interesting, isn't it?" Hikaru's voice brought him back to earth.

"Huh?"

"The sea," she explained. "It's just so wondrous. All it is, is water. Lots and lots of water. It takes no form at all, yet it has the potential for devastating destruction. It can kill you, but you'd die without it…"

He stayed mute, half listening to her talk and half listening to his thoughts.

She continued, "But it's so incredibly gentle at the same time. It sooths us…"

"Sedates us... relaxes us," added Nile.

"It's beautiful."

"Incredible."

Slowly, she got to her feet and searched through the darkness to find his eyes. "It's kind of like…"

Together, the same word left their lips in perfect union.

"You…"

He took a step further, illuminating any space between them. Hesitantly, he snaked an arm around her waist and held her hand with the other. In return, she placed her hand on his shoulder.

As the sound of the waved surrounded them, as the crisp night air caressed their still damp bodies, the atmosphere created the perfect moment.

Nile craned his neck and paused just in front of her face as if wordlessly asking her if it were okay for him to go further. Hikaru responded by leaning in the rest of the way. For one moment, one perfect moment that couldn't have lasted longer even if they had been given the blessing or the curse of eternal life, their lips touched.

To Nile, this was magic. He simply wasn't sure that there were any other word to describe the fireworks he felt right then and there.

Nile pulled away first, though he really didn't want to. A scarlet blush graced his cheeks.

Hikaru looked down somewhat embarrassed. She touched her fingertips to her mouth which was very slightly tuned up at the corners. "My first kiss."

"Mine too," he cooed.

"Was it, was it how you'd imagined it to be?"

"No. It was much, much better. "

Breaking the trance, Nile pulled her down to sit by him. He let his legs hang over the edge of the rock above the waves, and Hikaru cuddled up beside him resting her head on his chest as he held her there with his arm.

They sat there, watching the moon and the waves without speaking for fear of ending their experience too soon.

After a while, Nile finally spoke. "Hikaru, thanks for showing me the ocean."

"It's okay. You would've seen it sooner or later," she replied, letting her hand trail up to play with the bang in his hair.

"Probably, but I wouldn't have gotten to experience it like this. With you, I mean. Now, whenever I think of the sea, I'll remember this and I'll think of you."

She sighed, content in his arms. "Do we have to go back?"

Nile chuckled, "Unfortunately, yes. Yes we do. But not right away. Let's just stay here for the night, up on this rock. We can go back to reality tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan."

And that's exactly what they did. For many hours into the night, Nile and Hikaru stayed comfortably motionless, content to simply embrace each other's company. Eventually, Hikaru gave in and fell asleep, but Nile's mind was wired. A million thoughts swarmed through his head. Gazing at the moon, he wondered what tomorrow would bring. Would he and Hikaru remain this close, or would the happenings of that night simply become a fond memory? Would they drift apart with the arrival of the morning sun, or would they remain the twin flames in which they had certainly become? Most importantly, would he ever see this place again? He had no doubts that he would visit this very same coast sometime in the future, but without Hikaru, it would be merely a beach. With Hikaru and just Hikaru, however, this place was not a beach. It was a different land, a different realm. As Hikaru slept so soundly next to him, he dearly hoped that he would one day be able to return to this place where the ocean meets the sand.

* * *

**And that was that! Sorry about the ending, it's all I could think of at the moment. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed, so fire away if you see anything that needs improving. **

**Thank you to everyone who reads this. It means a lot. **

**Jessie**


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